Ling Yan
Ling Yan (灵衍/líng yǎn) The male protagonist and romantic interest of Ye Qingtang. He is the third prince of the Eternal Dynasty in the Central Continent, Qingtian Domain. He was the Demon Emperor Han Cangming (寒沧溟/hán cāng míng) in his previous incarnation. To escape his destiny of becoming the next vessel of the Heart of the Heavens after Emperor Cangqiong, he extracted his soul and heart from his body and went into reincarnation and was reborn as Ling Yan. His shell (Han Cangming) serves as a decoy to deceive the Heavens such that the destiny meant for him would befall upon Han Cangming instead. It is later revealed that Ling Yan’s past life is the Saint of the Silver Star (银星圣君/yín xīng shèng jūn), an Immortal who resided in the Fourth Domain as a leader figure. The Saint of the Silver Star died trying to protect the Fourth Domain from the attack by the candidates vying to be Heaven’s successor. Interestingly, while Han Cangming is also his previous incarnation, the two do not look the same. On the other hand, Ling Yan and the Saint of the Silver Star look identical, only differing in the aura that they give off and a silver star mark on the Saint’s forehead. Abilities As Ling Yan, he possesses the Karma Bloodline (因果血脉/yīn guǒ xuè mài) and is able to deduce future events to a certain extent. He is the only person with this bloodline in the Lower Realm. At the expense of using all the power of the Karma Bloodline, he is the one that sent Ye Qingtang back to her youth, allowing her to relive her life, in hopes that she can free them from their ill-fated destiny. As he had left all his martial prowess in his former shell (Han Cangming), his martial prowess as Ling Yan is pitifully lacking. However, what he lacks in martial prowess, he more than makes up for with his brilliant mind. Ling Yan is said to possess the wit and intellect of a demon, able to calculate events and plan things several steps in advance. He can easily outwit even people who are stronger than him and get them to do his bidding. Thus people within the Central Continent are extremely wary of him despite his low martial prowess. This demonic intellect of his is also why he was bestowed the title of Demon Emperor when he was still Han Cangming. He only regains his power after traveling back to the past. He is last known to have reached the level of Immortal Emperor. Personality He is said to be ambitious, so much so as to challenge the heavens and to aim to outwit the heavens and destiny. He sees the world as a giant chessboard and all things as pawns, staying in the dark while having everything within his control. He is breathtakingly good-looking, as if he had stepped out of a painting. He usually has a smile on his face and carries himself with a deceivingly harmless demeanor but is described as someone who is callous and has no regard for human lives. So long as he can achieve his goals, he is willing to sacrifice anyone, with the lone exception of Ye Qingtang. If it is her request, he is willing to change or even abandon his carefully planned ploys. Ling Yan is very direct with his verbal advances on Ye Qingtang and likes to tease her by making suggestive comments, which are usually shrugged off or met with an exasperated reaction from her. He frequently provides her assistance during times of trouble, though he is often not by her side. He has mentioned on numerous occasions that Ye Qingtang is very important to him and that he wants to protect her for life, even shifting her death flag to himself so that she may avoid certain death.